The hotel's first guest was Gretchen Gaede, who serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County (BGCLC). Proceeds from the May 14 invitation-required, hotel grand opening will benefit BGCLC. In addition, attendees of the celebration will be encouraged to bring nonperishable foods to benefit the Food Bank for Larimer County, an organization that collaborates with BGCLC to offer the Kids Café meal program. Themed "Loveland: Past. Present. Future." the official grand opening evening for the Embassy Suites – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center will offer a sampling of the hotel's culinary delights, entertainment from local talent, and tours of the largest hotel and meeting space in Northern Colorado.

Tom Dwyer, hotel general manager and 28-year veteran with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, shared the importance of being a community partner from the start. "We've had an overwhelming response from the community making us feel a part of something bigger," Dwyer said. "From our highly successful pre-opening job fairs, to our charitable ties, to our commitment to green stay guest experiences, to our having more than $3.3 million in pre-opening sales, we're off to a fantastic beginning for ensuring we make a significant difference in Loveland and Larimer County."

The Embassy Suites – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center is the largest hotel north of Denver to Canada and is next to the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch, Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex, Northern Colorado's premier entertainment destination and agricultural showcase. John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts operates two other hotels in Colorado, including in Denver and Fort Collins, and Mr. Hammons is developing a Renaissance Hotel in Colorado Springs.

"I've visited several John Q. Hammons properties and seen first hand their significant impact on cities nationwide," said Loveland City Manager Don Williams. "The opening of the Embassy Suites – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center is the latest of a growing list of economic steps forward for the city of Loveland. The new facilities fill an important need in Loveland's meeting space while providing a corporate quality hotel venue. The combination of new meeting space with the adjacent, existing exhibition offering at The Ranch provides the opportunity to conveniently host any size gathering, enhancing Loveland and Larimer County's appeal."

Representing more than 80,000 gross square feet of flexible meeting space, the new, state-of-the-art facilities are in high demand. Scott Holm, hotel director of sales, shared that the 28,800-square-foot Front Range grand ballroom can be divided into eight rooms and appears to be especially popular with meeting planners. A sampling of annual conferences that have booked includes those for the Colorado Society of Association Executives, Excelsior Software, the Federation of Fly Fishers, and Trimble Navigation. The conference center facilities are designed to accommodate a wide range of events, from auto and boat shows to high tech exhibitions, graduations, special events and business meetings.

Area Information

The Embassy Suites – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center resides on 20 acres of land on the northeast quadrant of I-25 and US-34 with convenient access to the Colorado cities of Greeley, Fort Collins, Estes Park, Windsor, Longmont, Boulder and Denver and also to Cheyenne, Wyo. In addition, the development is strategically located near a new 1 million-square-foot, 60-acre shopping center developed by Loveland-based McWhinney Enterprises. John Q. Hammons' upscale facilities are next to the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport and located near several of Northern Colorado's largest economic drivers, including nearby Hewlett-Packard, Agilent Technologies, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Hach Company, and one of Anheuser-Busch's breweries. The facilities are just 10 miles from Colorado State University, which has about 24,700 resident instruction students.

About The Ranch

Comprised of 375,000 square feet of flexible event space, The Ranch in Larimer County, Colo., features multiple venues, including the Budweiser Events Center. As Northern Colorado's premier entertainment destination and agricultural showcase venue, Phase I of The Ranch spans 150 of the complex's 243 acres for hosting a variety of events spanning sports, music, trade shows, fairs and festivals. Situated in one of the fastest growing areas in the country directly adjacent to I-25, just north of Highway 34 in Loveland, The Ranch has a reputation for drawing significant, high-traffic acts to this popular complex that opened in 2003. For more information, go to www.larimer.org/theranch.

Making a Reservation

For more information or to book a group function at the Embassy Suites – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center, contact (970) 593-6200, fax (970) 593-6202, email: scott.holm@hilton.com or go to www.embassysuitesloveland.com. The hotel also can be booked under the following GDS codes: Amadeus DEN079, Apollo/Galileo 89068, and Sabre/Worldspan 34919.

Hotel Information | Built with the signature atrium style of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, the Embassy Suites – Loveland boasts an architectural style that complements the design of the adjoining conference center. The hotel's décor emits a contemporary flair that invites guests to enjoy the exceptional appointments and outstanding customer service that define the John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts and the Embassy Suites Hotels brands. The hotel offers a variety of amenities for both business and leisure travelers and is beautifully decorated to make guests feel at home. Each guest suite features a private bedroom and spacious living room equipped with two LCD televisions, refrigerator, wet bar, microwave oven, coffee maker, two telephones with data ports, high-speed Internet access, spacious work desk and in-room safe boxes. Guests may enjoy a luxurious open atrium with a water feature. The hotel offers room service, same-day dry cleaning, and daily cooked-to-order breakfast and two-hour manager's reception. Guests are able to enjoy a casual meal in the Grille and Lounge, or coffee and espresso in Caffeina's Internet Cafe. Other features include a fitness center, indoor pool, sundeck, and therapeutic spa treatments at the full-service Spa Botanica, John Q. Hammons' signature spa.

About Embassy Suites Hotels; Hilton Hotels Corporation | Founded in 1984, Embassy Suites Hotels defines the upscale, all-suite segment and today has 198 hotels, with an additional 56 in the pipeline. With spacious two-room suites, engaging team members and an inviting atrium environment, guests are allowed to put their feet up and feel right at home. To learn more, visit www.embassysuites.com.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 3,000 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 74 countries and territories, including 135,000 team members worldwide. The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton®, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations™, Homewood Suites by Hilton® and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection™.

About John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts | Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts is the nation's leading independent builder, developer, owner and manager of upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including: Embassy Suites Hotels, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands. With 81 hotels strategically located near demand generators, such as state capitals, universities, airports, corporate headquarters or office parks in secondary and tertiary markets, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts' properties are dominant in their markets. Over the course of his impressive 50-year career in the hotel business, Mr. John Q. Hammons has developed 207 hotels. For more information about John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, please visit the company's Web site at www.jqhhotels.com.